The Real Problem

by Cameron Slater on September 3, 2012 at 1:30pm

As Fairfax (Dompost) and the NZ Herald “transform” themselves and their formats so that, in the words of the Dompost, they can “become moreÂ relevant” it is perhaps this comment from Vin Crosbie that they need to be taking head of, not re-formatting their sad offerings:

â€śThe real problem, Mr. Newspaperman, isnâ€™t that your content isnâ€™t online or isnâ€™t online with multimedia. Itâ€™s your content. Specifically, itâ€™s what you report, which stories you publish, and how you publish them to people, who, by the way, have very different individual interests. The problem is the content youâ€™re giving them, stupid; not the platform its on. But I digress.â€ť

COntent is king and until media conglomerates start toÂ recogniseÂ that the reason people don’t buy their papers or subscribe online is that the multitude of tastes that exist for news are not being met by a homogenised version of the truth through the lens of an editor.

The reason why blogs and online commentators areÂ becomingÂ more and more popular is precisely theÂ oppositeÂ of the broad brushÂ approachÂ by media.

The real problem is that Newspaper peddle a hard-left line- whereas successful, high-value Kiwis hate leftism and all it stands for

Centre-right papers like the NRB or Investigate have no problems staying afloat.

your johnson

NBR is just as fucked. Readership down almost 3x the herald last year. Implemented pay wall. Still fucked.

Jonno

While you are right about the left wing slant of some commentators, most of the reasoning behind the fall in readership must be down to the fact that most of what’s published is utter dross. Once upon a time we used to have news on the front page, now it’s lifestyle, scandle or celebrity. Opinion pieces or contentious comments, from random commentators and citizens with the IQ of squid, don’t make a newspaper. The NBR is not faultless either fuck wits populate both political extremes.

Mr_Blobby

I say bring on the pay wall. Then I wonâ€™t be tempted to read the daily dribble that they call news.